The controversy surrounding Maks and Carrie Anne’s fight continue. We’ve got a few more things to share on it again. First up, we have an Extra video of Tony interviewing Maks, Mark, and Derek and their partners on what happened. I don’t know. The more and more I hear from the pros on this, the more I side with them versus Carrie Anne.

Erin Andrews also spoke about what happened in a new interview on Movie Line. She also talked about the dances this week and her advise for future dances. Here is a take. Be sure to read the link for more from her.

Your boy Maks had a slight kerfluffle with Carrie Ann this week. How did you react? Did you hurl things at the TV? Scream, etc.?I think that when I first heard them [spar], I was like, “Oh gosh. Oh no.” But then when I thought about it what happened afterward when they went to commercial — he’s so sweet. He was just sticking up for Brandy. A lot of the time when the judges comment on the choreography, the way the dance was planned out, the pros take it upon themselves to say, “Just judge her for the dance. Don’t judge her for the choreography.” That’s all he was doing. He’s very, very protective over his stars. He wants them to feel comfortable. He made a comment to me one night before the show started about my wardrobe, and he said, “I just want you to walk down those stairs and feel the most glamorous and beautiful you’ve ever felt in your entire life.” He wants nothing but for his stars to feel the absolute best about themselves. You could see from the package that they showed with Brandy, he said, “Look, it’s just about us. It’s about nobody else. Do this for yourself.” That was just Papa Bear taking over and being really protective over his baby. I knew they’d make a big deal about it on all the gossip shows and in the tabloids and on the results show. I don’t know if you saw, but afterward, when Kurt was out, Maks went down and — he’s so sweet — he hugged Kurt right away. And then he went off — I watched him in the background — he hugged Carrie Ann. I think in the end Carrie Ann knows what he’s doing. He lets his emotions get the best of him, but that’s why he’s so wonderful.

Can you recall any times when the judges criticized you for things you couldn’t control, like the choreography?Oh, absolutely. Our samba that we did — I had this gorgeous purple feather outfit with a nude top and embroidery. Our story that we were telling — and this is why I love Maks, but — he thinks of these different stories. Our dance, the song was “When I Get You Alone.” He was like, “I want to pretend you’re coming home from a glamorous ball. And I’m this guy, and I’m all over you. And you’re like, ‘No, no, no, no. Let me have a second.’” It was so awesome. There was a part when I rip off his sleeves and then I rip open his shirt, and then he ripped off his shirt. Well, Len went to town that night and just said, “I’m tired of it, Maks. She’s a good dancer. I’m tired of you taking off your clothes.” And Maks was like, “You’re not listening! You’re not understand the theme of our song.” I got OK scores. I didn’t get the greatest scores on it. But he really felt like we were being penalized — I was being penalized — because Maks took his shirt off. The next week we did our foxtrot where we joked he would take his shirt off, but then we decided not to in the middle of the dance. Yeah, he got really frustrated with the judges. He said, “You’re penalizing Erin for something I created.”

Jennifer Grey racked up a perfect score this week. If any dance this week was worth 30 points, do you think it was hers?Well, her instant dance got the perfect score, right?

Yes.I thought her instant dance was hot. I mean, that’s what I wrote down in my notes. I wrote, “Wow. J. Hot.” I’m such a dork in that I thought one of the moves was like in Dirty Dancing when he put his hand down her arm and then he spun her out. And that extension that she held was so beautiful. I have goosebumps thinking about it. I wasn’t surprised that she got all 10s in that routine at all. Now I will say — in her first dance, I loved the dance, I loved the dress, I was excited when I saw her dance, but (sighs) again, with all the “My body’s falling apart” stuff. I read on somebody’s tweet, I forget whose it was, but they were like, “Is she lying to us about her injury?” She builds up this “I’m hurt, I’m hurt, I’m hurt,” and then she comes out, does the dance, and she’s insane. So I can understand her body falling apart, but I appreciated this week that there wasn’t a lot of crying. I appreciated that. She can’t help that her body’s falling apart; I like her playing it low-key, instead of being hysterical and everything like that. She went out there and I think she put herself on top of the leader board again. From her first dance to her instant dance, it was “Wow. Wow. Wow.” That’s the girl we saw at the beginning of the season and I think she put herself back on top.

She’s got to be really, really careful with her packages though in the next two weeks. You don’t want America to just get tired of the crying and the “My body’s falling apart.” It’s OK because at this point in the competition, everybody’s body is falling apart. Evan [Lysacek] had broken toes! He had a head injury. I had a broken foot which I didn’t know about. We just knew my foot was swollen every single day, and we didn’t know why. And I had a back injury. The day of the finale, we were doing run-through, we did my dance, and something popped in the middle of run-through. I started hysterically crying, and Maks was like, “What, what, what?” And I’m like, “It’s fine, let’s just go.” At this stage of the game, everybody is hurt. You can’t cry about it, and you have to soldier on.

It sounds like you’re saying that Jennifer is the front-runner, but maybe Kyle or Brandy can take that from her very soon.I’ll be very, very honest. I think Jennifer is absolutely the front-runner right now. She’s America’s sweetheart. I’d hate to sound corny, but she’s “Baby” to America. I think everybody loves the storyline that she’s 50 years old and she’s doing things with her body that are incredible. She looks wonderful. But I’ll be very candid in the fact at all these packages and America’s vote could really hurt her if she continues being very emotional. She can be injured and she can talk about that, but don’t use that as the only thing you’re talking about. She has a beautiful husband, a gorgeous daughter, friends who come to support her. Maybe use that. It was nice to see her dad in the package. But there is a guy named Kyle Massey who is so cute, so likable, and so fun. And he makes fun of himself — and I used to do that, people love it when you make fun of yourself — and he is becoming very charming to America. She needs to watch out for that. He may come out of the back, the back of the field there, and take over all the votes. Because people may start to get tired of it.

Mark discusses what happened with Maks and Carrie Anne in his new blog from USA Today. He also talks about Bristol and his dances this week and what’s to come next week.

Bristol did great this week and I was proud of her. She deserved higher than the judges gave her in the Argentine Tango, and Carrie Ann’s 7 in the Samba was wack. She definitely deserved higher.

I was irritated because I made a mistake in our Samba. What’s fun about making mistakes in front of 20 million households? Nothing. We got turned around in our routine so we ended up being on the wrong side of the floor. The room we practiced in was tiny compared to the ballroom, and we only had 20 minutes. Oh well. We did our best and that’s all we are focused on.

Everyone is tense backstage. How about that ongoing battle between Maks and Carrie Ann? Awk-ward! I don’t think Maks was out of line. In fact, I think it was awesome that he spoke up. As professional ballroom dancers, we’re all extremely competitive and take great pride in our work. When we get slammed, we take it personally. We have to, because dancing has been our entire lives and we put so much into it.

I was really excited to go to a concert not once, but twice this weekend. Florence and the Machine (NOT Florence Henderson!) was one of the best live shows I’ve ever been to. So awesome! I went twice: Sunday with Chelsie and Monday with Derek.

This week we have two dances again: the Paso Doble and Waltz. She’ll do really well in Paso because her demeanor, which is very straight-faced, matches the expression and motivation of the dance. And we just performed the Viennese Waltz a few weeks back, so I expect Bristol to really challenge for the finals.

Brandy has a new blog up to on Access Hollywood. She writes about what happened with Maks and Carrie Anne as well as their upcoming dances.

Each week, I make certain to listen to the judges as they point out what I’m doing right and wrong. After all, this is a competition and a part of this experience is to become the best dancer that I can be. So, I’m always paying close attention to them no matter how happy or disappointed I may be with the final scoring.

This week was different. This week’s scores seem to reflect more on our choice of choreography than the actual footwork and technique. While I was stunned at how the evening turned out, I really am more stunned at how big of a deal it turned out to be in the press.

I mean, I know that a little drama goes a long way and this was definitely ‘dramatic,’ but I wasn’t expecting the reaction from outside the studio and later that night — or even on Tuesday from the press. What was a minor disagreement between my partner and Carrie Ann turned out to be the ‘drama for the week’ for “DWTS.”

Anyways, Maks went over to Carrie Anne on Tuesday and they both walked away with everything being OK. I know that Maks is a very passionate person and since dance is his life, I understand how he felt.

By the same token, Carrie Ann is there to help us ‘Celebrities’ become better dancers and continue to learn the intricate moves. Her criticisms are meant to motivate us each week to give just a little more for the audience to see and enjoy. Seeing both perspectives and being behind the scenes, it really wasn’t everything that it was made out to be.

What you saw on both nights made for some great TV and that’s one of the reasons why the ratings for “DWTS” remain so high.

C’est la vie.

Now, it’s on to Wednesday and my next two dances are the Argentine tango and the paso doble. I admit that I am looking forward to both. I’m sure that Maks has some dazzling choreography and costumes in mind for us!

Next week will take us one-step closer to that coveted Mirror Ball trophy and the competition is stiff. I have a new appreciation for everyone who has come before me and for those who will come after.

Here’s a bit from TV Guide on some things we didn’t see that I thought was interesting.

What You Didn’t See
• Before the dreaded elimination show began, Kyle Massey and Tony Dovolani had the entire audience up and moving. Dovolani, showing off his ripped biceps in a muscle-tank, accompanied Massey on stage, where the two guided the audience on the dance floor to “Time Warp” and “YMCA.” The crowd cheered, waved their hands in the air and moved their feet according to the steps instructed by Massey and Dovolani.

• Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Carrie Ann Inaba made up off camera after their dispute Monday night. “We actually spoke when credits rolled,” Chmerkovskiy told reporters backstage. “It was a very pleasant and polite conversation. I don’t have anything against Carrie Ann. She said what she said at the moment, and I responded like somebody who has put two and a half months into trying to make someone the best they can be.”

• Brandy let out a sigh of relief backstage after finding out she was safe on Tuesday’s elimination. “You know, I don’t want to say the word I really want to use, but I was you-know-what bricks,” the singer told PEOPLE, adding that because she’s now safe, she’s starting to think about where she wants to put her disco ball trophy if she wins the competition.

Ok, that is all we have for you for now. Don’t forget to watch “Larry King” tonight where he will interview all the remaining dance couples, Brooke, and Tom Bergeron (not sure if Bruno and Carrie Anne will be there too?). Here’s the cast coming and leaving his show last night to tie us over until show time tonight. It’s not much. But, sometimes scraps will have to do until the real thing. lol

I'm a fashion and music fan....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. One of my favorite dancing quotes at the moment: "No matter what, nobody can take away the dance you've already had...." ~Gleb Savchenko . For fun music and dance mixes, visit WilUnleashed Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

“The more and more I hear from the pros on this, the more I side with them versus Carrie Anne.”

I don’t. While I don’t necessarily have a problem with WHAT Maks said, although I don’t really agree with him, I do have a huge issue with HOW he said it. I think a lot of the pros are only focusing on the first thing, not the latter, even though the two are very different issues. And it doesn’t surprise me that Mark would agree, since he’s been whining all season about the judges being too hard on Bristol.

I don’t know exactly what Derek said, since I can’t watch the video right now. If he’s saying that he understand Maks’ frustration, that’s a reasonable sentiment. However, if he’s actually approving of how Maks went about expressing it, then he can shut up along with Mark. Derek, I think, has the least reason to go complaining about the judges than any of the pros.

As I was watching Maks and Brandi begin their dance, I ALSO wondered why they were standing for so long before they began their dance. THAT is what Carrie Anne commented on…that they wasted valuable time. None of the other dancers waited before they began dancing. Yes, it was Maks’ choreography that Brandi was judged on…of course. What else? Dancing is a combination of WHAT you do with your feet/body and HOW you do it. My question about Mark & Bristol’s scores agree with Marks…if Bristol is doing better each week, which she is and the judges say so, why haven’t the scores gone up? She is MUCH better than when she began, yet she continues to get 8s. BTW, I agree that Jennifer is a favorite, I believe the final two will be Jennifer and Brandi. I also agree that she needs to tone down the discussion on her aches and pains. She HAS been through a lot, but so has everyone else. You didn’t hear Florence Henderson complaining and she had 20+ years on Jennifer. All-in-all, this is one of the best seasons yet!

I think Maks’ apology was fine. He acknowledged that he lost his temper, and apologized to his fans and, instead of making a big deal about apologizing to CA on screen (where I’m sure he would have been criticized for playing to TV), he waited until after the show to go to CA and make peace. He is a passionate man and that can be a double edged sword sometimes. He’s human…he’s busting his butt…move on, they are.

Blah, Derek said the same thing he’s been saying all along – that he understands why Maks blew up, how it could happen. He doesn’t take a side or say that what Maks did was right. He’s quite the diplomat, actually. Way better than I usually am. 🙂

You’re exactly right about there being two issues at work here, not just one. Everyone seems to be forgetting that in their own quest to take a side or explain.

At this late stage of the competition, to not score the competitors relative to EACH OTHER, just isn’t right. Why in hell should Bristol get 8’s for a dance that would have gotten Jennifer or Brandy a 5 or a 6? In what universe is that the right way to go?

Maks didn’t choreograph the proper ch cha. Cha cha with only a minute (or so) of the actual dancing is not the proper cha cha. Period. Remember when Len gave Derek and Nicole 6 for their quickstep (only because it wasn’t the proper quickstep, not because Nicole’s technique was bad, he just critisized the choreography) or said their foxtrot was great but couldn’t give them 10 because they had more time without a proper hold that he liked? He totally wasn’t judging Nicole here, only Derek’s choreography. The same with Mario and Karina’s tango in season 2. Len said it started great, then they broke hold and “the dance just ended for me there”or somehing like that. Again not critisizing the technique, only the choreography. And that’s just the examples I can think of on the spot. So it obviously wasn’t the first time judges were paying more attention to the routine then to the technique.
Also what we should not forget is that the star and the pro are a team. The pro cannot proceed without an effort from the star and a star will fail when the pro isn’t giving the competition their best. The pro is not only the partner, they are also the teacher AND the choreographer too. So yeah, Brandy was good in her cha cha but her partner made a mistake with choreography that cost her points. Why shouldn’t it? Brandy had less cha cha in her minute and a half than she needed to. So what that her 65 or so seconds of dance were good? 25 or so seconds of dance were missing. It is even worse than if would have messed her steps in those 25 seconds or forgotten the routine. There just was nothing to mess up. For me it felt even like a cheating but I won’t go there.

And regarding Bristol. She has gotten 7 or 8 for the dances other stars would have gotten 5 or 6. So people think it’s only fair that the judges should continue this circus and give her 9 or 10 for less than average dancing because it’s like a little better than her efforts from two weeks ago? Ok, if they are gonna give Jennifer and Brandy 11 or 12 or 13.

Sorry for all possible mistakes, totally not a native speaker and it’s only my second time commenting here:)
Greetings from Lithuania

Maddy, Portia would be so awesome on the show! Keeping my fingers crossed.
I think it’s kind of sweet that the pros are sticking by each other even if I don’t think Maks was right to react the way he did. But he did apologize for loosing his temper and that’s enough for me. I think Derek is smart to say he understands it, but isn’t really picking sides.

Love Jennifer, she has been dancing forever. have the movie and never tire. JENNIFER will win.
Who wouldnt love the little black guy cant remember
his name,personalty is overwhelming. got a cute little partner as well.
Bristol is a good girl with a bad break with the no good child. She is meeting her responsibilities in
motherhood. The only time she ever danced was
probably the school prom. Mark herpartner is the greatest she is so fortunate to have gotten him.

I would like to see Krystal to give Mark more credit.
instead of giving herself all the “proud of me”, lets
give Mark a lot of credit. HOPE BRISTIOL READS
THIS HAVE VOTED FOR YOU ALL THE WAY BRISTOL
AND I AM AN OLE LADY. BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS
SPACE FOR DAYS. THANK U

I THINK AS A PROFESSIONAL DANCER AND BALLROOOM CHAMPION MAX HAS A RIGHT TO CHALLENGE CARRIE ANN, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE FEELS SHE IS NIT-PICKING AND PETTY. BRISTOL NEEDS TO GO HOME. HER MOMMA DEAREST TEABAGGERS ARE CHEATING, CREATING ALL OF THOS E-MAIL ACCOUNTS AND BRAGGING ON THE WEB ABOUT HOW THEY ARE VOTING 50 TO 100 TIMES IS CHEATING AND BRISTOL SHOULD BE DISQUALIFIED. I DANCED BALLROOM FOR TEN YEARS AND BRISTOL IS BAD. GUESS MOMMY DEAREST HAS LOST ALL INTEGRITY, IF YOU CAN’T WIN BY TALENT THEN STEAL IT. WHAT KIND OF WOMEN IS SHE? EVIL

I have to think that the Bristol thing is political. Does Mama Palin have that much power? If the judges would have scored Bristol equally with everyone else, she would not have lasted this long. And Audrina, Rick and Kurt were weak, but not as weak as Bristol. The scores should have reflected that.

With the Maks kerfluffle, I think he was out of line, but I also think that the show has asked ridiculous things from the pros this season. Theme night after theme night after theme night….it’s too much. Every dance has to tell a story, the music chosen for some of them sucks, and the pros are dealing with celebrities who each have their own issues.

I think this season has been more difficult than usual for the couples.

Well, if people are bragging about “cheating” by having 50 accounts, someone should probably tell them to stop patting themselves on the back. 🙂 A person is allowed to vote from as many e-mail accounts as he/she wants. Nothing sneaky or clever about it – that’s using the system to your advantage.

It’s not obvious to me how Bristol winning DWTS is a political advantage. But political or not, my gut feeling is that she’s probably getting a lot of viewer votes from conservatives. And, at least as of last week, her fan base has to command some respect – she had more supporters than Kurt, who I have to believe had a pretty good fan base. How many more, we have no idea.

And I agree with Ava’s and Laurie’s comments that Bristol doesn’t seem to have been scored by the same standard as other celebrities. Her past scores have been generous on many occasions, and I don’t think others would have been so fortunate.

Bristol’s shy and looks kinda young but isn’t she like 19 or 20? She’s not a kid. Or at least old enough to vote or serve in the military. Good for her to tell Larry she is not talking about Levi but not commending her for being so brave for being young. She’s an adult.

Well, mmc, remember that she only had to have like 3000 more votes then Kurt – that’s not that many more fans, if she was in 4th place. Especially not if people are using more than one account to vote – and many are.

Ack, I’m not explaining myself very well, as my husband often points out. 😀 I’ll try one more time, but promise to shut up if I still can’t say it right. 😉

Completely agree that 3000 MORE votes is hardly anything. I didn’t mean that Bristol got a lot more votes than Kurt (though she may have), but rather that her TOTAL vote count is substantial. Unlike Audrina, I have to believe that Kurt was getting a lot of votes. And to beat him, Bristol got that same number plus a tiny bit extra. No way to know of course, but that could be a whole lot of total votes.

let’s not forget that Derek had his own blow up with the judges via the confession cam. Derek decided to throw other couples under the bus at the same time. Maks did not do that. His ire was directly at CA which is where it should have been.

jeanmom- Carols is right. Tony is not impartial when he says that Brandy deserves the trophy. Maks and him are best buds so of course he wants him to win. It most likely will come down to Brandy and Jennifer in the end (I hope). Who will win? Both are deserving, but love Jen and Derek a whole lot more as Brandy rubs me the wrong way.

I love how Maks fans always race back to the confessional to try and justify Maks. Derek lost his cool ONE TIME years ago in the heat of the moment.It wasn’t even that bad, but he apologized for it immediately. And he didn’t throw anyone under the bus, he criticized judging inconsistencies. There’s no comparison to Maks’ repeated and continuous pattern of being rude and disrespectful and accusatory to the judges, other pros and other competitors. This outburst isn’t Maks’ first time at this rodeo. He’s there all the time. And he has called out and insulted others by name, like when he said outright that Marie Osmond didn’t belong in the finals or when he accused Julianne of cheating or when he made disparaging comments about Dmitri and Lacey. Those are just a couple of examples. Most of the pros have had their moments of frustration. That’s forgivable. What’s not okay is doing it all the time and justifying yourself being unbelievably rude to another person because you think you are right. It’s also sickening to see Mark starting down the same path. Watching him mimic and mock Carrie Ann in some of his interviews was shocking. What a jerk. Not to mention that he’s delusional if he thinks that he and Bristol have been underscored.

Oh, I forgot to add that I’ve never seen Maks so rudely interrupt, talk over and preempt a judge who was focusing on him or his choreography to compliment him. Why isn’t he equally outraged by that If he feels so strongly that it shouldn’t ever be about him or the choreography? Self-serving, self-justifying hypocrite.

jeanmom, we’ve been having the discussion about Derek, I think under another post. The difference between Derek and Maks is that Derek is mature enough to LEARN HIS LESSON and not do it again – that was what? Three years ago? Maks clearly isn’t since he keeps doing the same things over and over and over with no regard for anyone else. And keeps complaining about it. The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Just sayin’.

Derek also apologized and wrote notes to everyone involved – Maks probably apologizes one out of every 5 times, and even then he says, “I’m sorry…BUT” The man acts like a child quite often.

As for Tony – LOL. That’s like Derek’s dad saying he deserves to win when he was partnered with Shannon or Lil’ Kim. VERY impartial. LOL.

Wow, Peonies, I hadn’t really thought of that. He does like it just fine when it’s compliments on his choreography, doesn’t he? And you’re right about Mark. I don’t know what’s happening to him but I really don’t like it.

Hi Margaret! I love your comments and agree with you in regards to Brandy. She is coming off very desperate to win and I feel it may hurt her as well. I like Maks and it would be nice to see him win, but after his ranting this week and Brandy rubbing me the wrong way, its a real turn off.

Ugh, Jay, don’t encourage them. Who’s next? The tea party chick who “tried” to be a witch when she was a kid? I can’t even remember her name. Christine something.

As for Derek, since his one and only blow up a couple years ago, he’s been Mr. Diplomat – but then it’s possible that he sees a light at the end of the tunnel on DWTS. Maybe he’ll do both. I can hope. I’m just worried he’ll be on the first plane to London after he’s released from this season. 🙂 I’m selfish.

Oh Hedi, I am selfish too and don’t want Derek to go to London, but I sure have this feeling that he will be on the first plane to London to see Cheryl after DWTS season ends. Hopefully its not as long as what he did this summer. He’s got to back for the Holidays to see his family.

It’s unfortunate that the narrative with this post appears to lump Derek in with Maks and Mark, as if he is exhibiting the same bad behavior. He is not, it’s really the exact opposite, but not everybody is going to watch the videos or read all the comments to find out the truth.

It’s unfortunate that the narrative with this post appears to lump Derek in with Maks and Mark, as if he is exhibiting the same bad behavior. He is not. It’s really the exact opposite, but not everybody is going to watch the videos or read all the comments to find out the truth. It’s too bad some people are getting a false impression. I also don’t think the only reason Derek hasn’t indulged in the bad behavior of Maks and Mark is because maybe he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. I think he can get just as frustrated as anyone else. It seems to me he just made a conscious decision to make an effort not to vent it in the wrong way.

The bottom line is that the Pros and Stars are in a profession where their skills are judged by other people with the outcome being based on a judges decision.

It would be so much easier on everyone if this was a contest like a sport where the first across the finish line wins.

When the success of an individual is based on someone else opinion, it is impossible to take human emotion and bias out of the outcome.

The only way to higher scores is to give the judges what they want to see. The Pros have three choices:

1.) Design their Choreography to please their own personal tastes. What they feel that their dance should convey to the audience. (Maks in this case went this route.)
2.) Design their Choreograpy to please the Judges.
3.) Design their Choreography to Please the viewing audience.

For the Pro dancers , this a tough job that only a few hundred individuals in the USA can do. I can see how Maks felt Carrie Ann was being disrespectful from his perspective. I can also see how Carrie Ann felt that Maks was not giving the contest what the Judges wanted to see.

As to dance contestants, I have no issues with who gets on the show. Put us a Democratic Politico on the show next season.

As to Bristol, we have no idea of her political leanings. Don’t tar her with the perceved sins of the Mother. America seems to have taken a real liking to her. She has been the Kelly Osborne of this season. People watch the show to see people change. Bristol may never be as good as Brandy or Jennifer but she has tried and has improved.

I’ve been dancing Carolina Shag and East Coast swing for about 30 years and Ballroom and Argentine Tango for over ten. I know how hard this is for the celebs and know how few people would ever get past the first dance lesson. I give all of them a lot of respect. Dance in their shoes before you pass judgement.